TXT language allowed in exams.

[Squeak the Rat]

I heard on the radio this morning that NZ is once again leading the world by allowing TXT speak in school exams.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3854612a10,00.html

It's not often I say this about a policy but I am disgusted.

[James Deuce]

For those of you who go "big deal, the world changes, get over it", in 20 years NZ will be one of the poorest Pacific Rim countries because we removed the one common frame of reference the region uses for communication. Written English.

Can't compete if you can't communicate. Written Asian languages are incredibly formal and you don't dick with them. If you do you are regarded as stupid. We already struggle to look clever in writing, and this will be seen as a typical lack of discipline and will become another point to be exploited.

Good luck txt generation. You'll need it, but it isn't going to help.

[Wasp]

saw that on a paper this morn when i got maccas!

im 18 and i think its bloody rediculous, if students consider themselves too dumb to write properly then they should have left school well before the exams.

this REALLY disgusts me. txt speak and 1337 speak are not languages they are not a part of the english language. students are just using it as an excuse so they dont have to learn how to spell properly.

mind you if I was still at school i'd probably be thinking "sweet now if i dont know how to spell a word ill just write it in txt/1337" i mean its not like the teacher can pull out a dictionary for txt/1337 speak and say I spelt it wrong can they? no, which means i get everything right making ncea even easier.

althought, knowing the teachers at my old school (especially the english ones) they will probably threaten to fail the students if they write like that.

[Dooly]

Fucking bizarre and ridiculous!

[Squeak the Rat]

At present it is only secondary schools, so Universities will hopefully not adopt this too. So, what's going to happen?

Rich educated people will continue to use the english language, while those in lower socio-economic groups will start developing a seperate dialect, written and oral. Long term we get ourselves a nice little class system going, easily identified by the way you talk, know wat i mean geezer innit?

If any person working for me uses txt speak in written communications at work, guess what - that is not effective communication and you will be FIRED. Not really fair when that's what they teach you to do at school though is it......

[slimjim]

its a sad sad day, this is bloody way wrong, shit enough of the young poeple now have reading problems ,when will the "PC" stop,

[bugjuice]

f'in stpd. wtf is teh wrld cumin 2?

actually really appalled by this. make the lazy fuckers use the Queen's fucking English. If I were marking papers, I'd fail every single one that was uing that fucking stupid lazy lingo. On phones, fine. In exams, hell no.. My sister sends me text messages, and it's like some secret German code!

[Cookie]

I have recent experience of a person with an “IT degree” from one of these places that renamed themselves a “University” in the past few years. Her written English was absolutely abysmal.

A recent parent evening at my son’s school was also disheartening. The teacher explained that they were not going to punish kids for not doing homework because they “could not legally require children to do homework”!

[Wasp]

If any person working for me uses txt speak in written communications at work, guess what - that is not effective communication and you will be FIRED.
hah, i remember when i started using the computer based records system here, I was told it doesnt really matter how bad my spelling was in our notes so long as I didnt write in txt/1337. invoices have to be full english

[Flatcap]

Rich educated people will continue to use the english language, while those in lower socio-economic groups will start developing a seperate dialect, written and oral. Long term we get ourselves a nice little class system going, easily identified by the way you talk, know wat i mean geezer innit?



We are already there Mr Rat - don't you watch Bro Town?

[Ghost Lemur]

We've got to keep this news from Hitcher. He'll have a coronary.

Truely worry about the world sometimes. Worry even more as there is no way I want my sons to go through an education system that thinks this is good.

[pervert]

Haha...what the fuck is 1337 speak?

[sAsLEX]

At present it is only secondary schools, so Universities will hopefully not adopt this too. So, what's going to happen?

Rich educated people will continue to use the english language, while those in lower socio-economic groups will start developing a seperate dialect, written and oral. Long term we get ourselves a nice little class system going, easily identified by the way you talk, know wat i mean geezer innit?

If any person working for me uses txt speak in written communications at work, guess what - that is not effective communication and you will be FIRED. Not really fair when that's what they teach you to do at school though is it......

01010111-01100101-01101100-01101100-00100000-01101110-01101111-01110100-00100000-01110010
-01100101-01100001-01101100-01101100-01111001-00100000-01001001-00100000-01101100-01100101
-01100001-01110010-01101110-01110100-00100000-01101101-01101111-01110010-01100101-00100000
-01101111-01100110-00100000-01110100-01101000-01101001-01110011-00100000-01110100-01101000
-01100001-01101110-00100000-01000101-01101110-01100111-01101100-01101001-01110011-01101000
-00100000-01100001-01110100-00100000-01010101-01101110-01101001-01110110-01100101-01110010
-01110011-01101001-01110100-01111001-00101110-00100000-01010100-01101000-01100101-01111001
-00100000-01100011-01100001-01101110-01110100-00100000-01100100-01101111-00100000-01110100
-01101111-01101111-00100000-01101101-01110101-01100011-01101000-00100000-01101100-01100001
-01101110-01100111-01110101-01100001-01100111-01100101-00100000-01100010-01100001-01110011
-01100101-01100100-00100000-01110011-01110100-01110101-01100110-01100110-00100000-01100001
-01110011-00100000-01100001-01101100-01101100-00100000-01110100-01101000-01100101-00100000
-01000001-01110011-01101001-01100001-01101110-01110011-00100000-01110011-01110101-01100011
-01101011-00100000-01100001-01110100-00100000-01101001-01110100-00100000-01100001-01101110
-01100100-00100000-01111001-01101111-01110101-00100000-01100011-01100001-01101110-01110100
-00100000-01110010-01100101-01100001-01101100-01101100-01111001-00100000-01110101-01110000
-01110011-01100101-01110100-00100000-01110100-01101000-01100101-01101101-00101110-00101110
-00101110-00101110-00101110-00101110

translated
Well not really I learnt more of this than English at University. They cant do too much language based stuff as all the Asians suck at it and you cant really upset them......

[Drum]

It is our duty to use correct langauge at all times, and to refuse to communicate with anyone using these bastardised sub-langauges.

And what is this 1337 you speak of??

[Flyingpony]

This is a terrible. NZ will definitely become 3rd world if our workforce can't write proper English.

I've read posts here on KB written in TXT. Sometimes I can workout what they are trying to say, but most times it is like "WTF are they on about!".

Would love to be an exam marker, any student who uses text speak will get marked a zero for that question because their writing was illegible.

As for not being able to spell a word, then write it as it sounds and most people will then be able to work out what you were trying to say.

[terbang]

I am part way through a creative and technical writers course, being ever so aware of my early departure from 5th form English, I often make excuses for my poor gramma. Strangely enough my tutor, like Hitcher ruthlessly reviewing my assingments, tells me tht she has more difficulty with those that have recent English degrees than us old fellas who left school too early.
Also having colloquially learn't another language by immersion rather than study I now wish I could read it.

[Drunken Monkey]

1337 5p34|< 15 +3|-| L4n&ua&3 0f +3|-| +|2u3 \/\/uRd /\/\45t3|2 OMGLOLWTFBBQ!!!!!

You obviously have internet access. Try looking things up yourself for a change:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet_speak

[Jantar]

1337 5p34|< 15 +3|-| L4n&ua&3 0f +3|-| +|2u3 \/\/uRd /\/\45t3|2 OMGLOLWTFBBQ!!!!!

:gob: Is that some sort of language? It is completely unintelligible.

[WRT]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=1337

That might explain things clearer than DM's post - 1337 is a way of writing LEET (short for "elite"), which is what he's linking too. It's basically it's what nerds who think they are way cooler and more intelligent than anyone else use to write in "code".

[toymachine]

And the gradual dumbing down of society continues...

[BuFfY]

We have an exam next wednesday and some retard asked if we could write our essays in text language.... I think it is bloody stupid! She said no!

She also bought up a very valid point, in our faculty if we wrote 'lng', in the paper I am sitting it would be seen as learning, but in another paper I am doing it would be seen as language.

A part of being an academic is being able to write fluently, and being a teacher I would hate to have to decode very paper I was marking. It is hard enough with the terrible handwrititng!!

[BuFfY]

1337 5p34|< 15 +3|-| L4n&ua&3 0f +3|-| +|2u3 \/\/uRd /\/\45t3|2 OMGLOLWTFBBQ!!!!!

You obviously have internet access. Try looking things up yourself for a change:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet_speak

Ohmy god I knew how to read that... I must spend FAR too much time with pyrocam!

[James Deuce]

Listened to the NZQA get grilled on National Radio this morning, and the policy hasn't really changed and is directed more at abbreviations than txt or leetspeak.

However he did display an appalling lack of understanding that a language framework is inherently cross-disciplinary. He claimed that the rule was in place so that a pupil who explained Pythagoras' Theorem with chunks of txt speak wouldn't be penalised for a lack of understanding. If you can't explain it to yourself in English, how do you explain it to someone who doesn't understand txt. Hmmm?

[bobsmith]

They cant do too much language based stuff as all the Asians suck at it and you cant really upset them......

Hmmmm as I recall Asians generally do a lot better than other New Zealanders at being grammatically correct and using proper English...

[ManDownUnder]

This is pathetic... PC people trying to accomodate new ways of thinking ... without considering the potential/likely outcome.

pls Sr, m applyng fr t jb u put in da papa.

Dear Applicant - fk off

They did it with the apprencticeships ("practical traning... hell no son, you can learn how to fix things from a book... here - read this"). Look at the state we're in now.

[ManDownUnder]

Listened to the NZQA get grilled on National Radio this morning, and the policy hasn't really changed and is directed more at abbreviations than txt or leetspeak.



However he did display an appalling lack of understanding that a language framework is inherently cross-disciplinary. He claimed that the rule was in place so that a pupil who explained Pythagoras' Theorem with chunks of txt speak wouldn't be penalised for a lack of understanding. If you can't explain it to yourself in English, how do you explain it to someone who doesn't understand txt. Hmmm?


You do what anyone does when trying to explain something without the necessary linguistic abilities.

You get a translator. Bloody brilliant move though.

Na - I maintain - it's PC madness. To understand is one thing, to demonstrate understanding is another.

[Jantar]

She also bought up a very valid point, in our faculty if we wrote 'lng', in the paper I am sitting it would be seen as learning, but in another paper I am doing it would be seen as language.
And in any papers I've ever done it would be read as liquid natural gas.

[ManDownUnder]

1337 5p34|< 15 +3|-| L4n&ua&3 0f +3|-| +|2u3 \/\/uRd /\/\45t3|2 OMGLOLWTFBBQ!!!!!

You obviously have internet access. Try looking things up yourself for a change:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet_speak

Yes I do, no I won't. You want to talk to me, do it in a way I can understand (not having a go.. just making the point).
When in France I make an attempt to understand what they are saying, and try to learn a little of their language culture etc.

Same in the US although the differences are more subtle.

Speaking in what appears to be enhanced hex holds no thrill for me, I don't see the point and am happy to live without.

[ManDownUnder]

And in any papers I've ever done it would be read as liquid natural gas.

What if it was in a paper written by a foreign student? God only knows what it could/would mean then...

[Squeak the Rat]

http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20061109-0823-Text_Speak-064.mp3 (thanks Jim2)

"We will actively discourage students using txt" - what does that mean? They will walk around the exam room shaking students who use txt?

"Don't use txt" shake-shake,
"Stop shaking me, why shouldn't I?"
"Because the marker might not understand it!"
"But he might"
"Well, yes there is that"
"Fuck off then, or should I say, fk of nbchz"

[Hitcher]

After having had CPR administered after reading the front page of this morning's DominionPost, I am endeavouring to regain some equilibrium.

Again New Zealand's "educators" have revealed that they have no interest whatsoever in either education or standards. This hellbent pursuit of the lowest common denominator is designed to make life easier for the neanderthal politically-correct brigade that has infiltrated many government regulatory agencies. Among other things, that means that illiterate teachers don't want their lack of English skills exposed. I am aghast and appalled by this latest "development". I am sure that there will be carefully groomed spokespeople rolled out to defend this development or give it "context".

The bottom line is that another nail has been driven into the coffin of communication. My heart bleeds for future generations.

[bobsmith]

I tell you, this is a part of the larger conspiracy to dumb down the general public so that the rule makers don't feel so dumb themselves, and so that they can control the future generations better.... First NCEA now this..... Hell English of general NZ population was shocking enough as it is (for an English speaking country), now it has taken a turn for the worse...

It's a sad day when 22 year old NZ born uni students have to come to me to proof read their assignments and hell I've seen some interesting grammar and spelling, and believe me, my English is far from brillient and it is my second language.

[Drunken Monkey]

...You want to talk to me, do it in a way I can understand ...

I did, otherwise I would've just said "!f j00 |)0n'+ u|)3|25t4|\|d l337 +h3N j00 /\/\u5+ b t3H LL4M4 muhahahahaha!!!!!"

- but really, it goes for all threads. Kiwibiker doesn't need to perform an online dictionary function as well, reading the wikipedia article will answer most of your questions regarding a subject without others having to read a dozen replies of the same thing all in bits. If you see a term you don't understand, you can save yourself and everyone else from arrogant replies from pompous arseholes* like myself.

*BDOTGNZA approved.

[Pixie]

At present it is only secondary schools, so Universities will hopefully not adopt this too. So, what's going to happen?

Rich educated people will continue to use the english language, while those in lower socio-economic groups will start developing a seperate dialect, written and oral. Long term we get ourselves a nice little class system going, easily identified by the way you talk, know wat i mean geezer innit?

And in 2 million years the txters will become morlocks and live underground,raiding the eloi communities while they sleep and capturing them for food.

[BuFfY]

Hitcher, I am opposed to it! And I am ALMOST a teacher. My faculty (which is a teacher education one) does not allow us to have bad (or low) writing skills and those who are unable to write coherent essays do not pass the papers (me on the other hand... well I rock :))

High school teachers only do a year of teacher training because they have done their specialist training in the subject of their choice. So I do not know what level of writing they have to have.

[Pixie]

As I have said before,It's Labour's Knowledge Economy
...The education ministry has been directed to be economical with knowledge.

[onearmedbandit]

Let me guess, New Zealand is the only country in the world to allow this right?

[gijoe1313]

As I sit here in my Year 11 classroom, my students are busy writing up their various submissions for internal assessments and practice essays.

I'm happen to report that I have managed to ban all txt l33t illama speak in their writing. At the younger year levels, it is an onerous task to try and diligently reinforce the idea that txt is not a valid way of expressing formal ideas.

Case in point : Getting my year 9 to write letters to a Tongan class, I informed them after their first attempts to include txt speak in their letters, could they consider the situation of Tongan students in regards to cellphones? They realised then, that possibly, just maybe, those students couldn't understand what they had "written".

Was a revelation to some. Victory!

However,I do weep when I see what we have to try and overcome in the course of a normal period :doh: Schools need to have a cellphone jammer and anyone that needs to contact a student can do it the old fashioned way, through the school telephone system via reception :angry:

That's enough from me, time to let my class out to tutor time! :done:

[Beemer]

This absolutely horrifies me! What is the world coming to? Next we will be accepting text speak as verbal language and abbreviating everything we say!

The start of a slippery slope...

[Swoop]

If I were marking papers, I'd fail every single one that was uing that fucking stupid lazy lingo.

It is hard enough with the terrible handwrititng!!
I actually mark assignments and examinations. The quality of handwriting and the "attempts" at spelling are challenge enough.
Answers with "txt" language are very few and far between and will remain that way if I have any input.
If an answer is constructed using txt, the resultant mark will read "X".
If a student answers the question with reasonable attempts at spelling and handwriting, can convey their thoughts across, then I will look at the content of their answer rather than penalise them for their written sins.

[pervert]

1337 5p34|< 15 +3|-| L4n&ua&3 0f +3|-| +|2u3 \/\/uRd /\/\45t3|2 OMGLOLWTFBBQ!!!!!

You obviously have internet access. Try looking things up yourself for a change:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet_speak


Are you some kind of retard? :gob:

[The Pastor]

Don't worry folks, the drinking age is still 18 so now they will have the excuse - I was too wasted to write propperly in my exam.


I serrioulsy cant belive how the hell this happend? Every english teacher I met thought txt msging lnguge ws th shts nly gud 4 wen u dnt hav a prpr kybrd nd a wrking hnds. yo wrs my crdits?

[Hitcher]

This absolutely horrifies me! What is the world coming to? Next we will be accepting text speak as verbal language and abbreviating everything we say!

The start of a slippery slope...

Since breaking my collarbone earlier this year and not being able to drive or ride for several weeks, I have become a bus-bound commuter. Actually I am quite enjoying this, but that's another story. A feature of being a BBC is on a twice-daily basis having to sit or stand in proximity to that phenomenum otherwise known as The Teenage Girl(TM). There are hoardes of them on buses in both directions. They communicate in a manner that is marvellous to behold, involving simultaneous data exchange using a variety of expressions that bear scant resemblance to otherwise accepted verbal language use, like. Interestingly the more "affected" ones (Queen Mags rather than St Mary's) pronounce it "lake". Fascinating. I feel like David Attenborough, like.

[Drunken Monkey]

Are you some kind of retard? :gob:

Retards and idiots are defined by what they don't know, not what they do know.

For example, if one had the ability to log on to this website and post in the forums, but not know how to extend that ability to look something up on "Wikipedia" or the "Urban Dictionary"; and also have a complete and utter lack of the understanding of "irony", well that one might accurately be described as, how you so eloquently put it, "some kind of retard".

Pfffft.

[Karma]

know wat i mean geezer innit?

OI!!

Sounds like you're referencing my cockney heritige in a negative fashion there.

Cut it out or I'll send the boys round. :angry:

[judecatmad]

At present it is only secondary schools, so Universities will hopefully not adopt this too.

Probably not, but what you'll then find is (as with the dumbing down of the curriculum to let the thick kids feel like achievers) the Universities will end up picking up the mess. Will make courses longer because Uni's will have to start teaching the basics just to get students through.

Dumbing down of the English language pisses me off - but then I guess it's not that much different to the Americanisation of the English language and that seems to be accepted by society rather (too) readily.

[stunz]

Laziness. The "next" generation is just bone-idle lazy. No two ways about it. If they can weasel out of doing something proper like, they will.

I also couldn't resist having a crack at trying to read that geek leet stuff and I think I figured it out...
1337 5p34|< 15 +3|-| L4n&ua&3 0f +3|-| +|2u3 \/\/uRd /\/\45t3|2 OMGLOLWTFBBQ!!!!!"leet speak us the language of the true word master, Oh My Golly, Later On Loser, Wheres The Fucking Beer Bitch, Qrist!!!!"

[GR81]

My sister sends me text messages, and it's like some secret German code!
here, try this...

[pervert]

Retards and idiots are defined by what they don't know, not what they do know.

For example, if one had the ability to log on to this website and post in the forums, but not know how to extend that ability to look something up on "Wikipedia" or the "Urban Dictionary"; and also have a complete and utter lack of the understanding of "irony", well that one might accurately be described as, how you so eloquently put it, "some kind of retard".

Pfffft.


I guess the answer to my original question is yes, thank you for clearing that up.

[ManDownUnder]

Retards and idiots are defined by what they don't know, not what they do know.

For example, if one had the ability to log on to this website and post in the forums, but not know how to extend that ability to look something up on "Wikipedia" or the "Urban Dictionary"; and also have a complete and utter lack of the understanding of "irony", well that one might accurately be described as, how you so eloquently put it, "some kind of retard".

Pfffft.

I tend to disagree with the specifics of what you said, but the overall meaning... yeah.

I tend to define an idiot as someone that knows they don't know something they should (yeah - read it twice...) and then does nothing about it.

If you have an important gap in your knowledge and don't do anything about it - you're an idiot. If you have an unimportant gap on your knowledge then you may be wisely investing your time in something more worthwhile.

[marty]

Laziness. The "next" generation is just bone-idle lazy. No two ways about it. If they can weasel out of doing something proper like, they will.

I also couldn't resist having a crack at trying to read that geek leet stuff and I think I figured it out..."leet speak us the language of the true word master, Oh My Golly, Later On Loser, Wheres The Fucking Beer Bitch, Qrist!!!!"

and here's me thinking it was Oh My God Laugh Out Loud What The Fuck Bar Be Que

[jetboy]

wtf iz dis sht. seems lyk da gvnt iz rn by a bnch ov teenage skoolgurls (or skoolboy in heln clrks cse)

looking forward to the next election.....

[The_Dover]

jesus, any of these fuckstains start trying to communicate with me in retard speak then I'll knock their teeth and and break their fingers.

Give them a reason to speek loik a reetread.

[Mole_C]

Maybe the govt. wants more dropouts from uni? All the recent changes are steering secondary school away from the processes of uni and making it more likely to fail..... That and rap music :shit:

[Indiana_Jones]

Please tell me it's a joke.

Screw this, I'm gonna watch some more Thomas the tank engine episodes on youtube

*Indy puffs away to the Thomas theme*

-Indy

[jetboy]

jesus, any of these fuckstains start trying to communicate with me in retard speak then I'll knock their teeth and and break their fingers.

Give them a reason to speek loik a reetread.
...in no uncertain terms then haha.

Look forward to it guys, these are our future leaders we are talking about.

...Maybe you oldies need to get up with technology? (Joking - before I get The Dover knockin on my door)

[Brian d marge]

All I have to say on the matter is ...... To boldly go...... :gob: that was the fall of Mr Perrin ....

There are times and places for correctness, a game is fine for lert or what ever it is ... but a exam .....

A good example of Lert speak . Look at Tard me .. Selling a bike , you would have thought one could SPELL bike ....
NOT

Stephen

[MSTRS]

We have an exam next Wednesday and some retard asked if we could write our essays in text language.... I think it is bloody stupid!

The tutor said no! She also brought up a very valid point. In our faculty if we wrote 'lng', in the paper I am sitting it would be seen as learning, but in another paper I am doing it would be seen as language.

A part of being an academic is being able to write fluently and, being a teacher, I would hate to have to decode every paper I was marking. It is hard enough with the terrible handwriting!!

Where was Hitcher?
Sorry Buffy, and I know it seems petty, but teachers, especially, must attain the highest standard.
What is this facsination with making things as easy as possible? Is it to ensure that as many as possible get to pass? I always thought that the point of school and exams was that approximately 50% would pass and the other 50% would fail. Scaling was there to ensure this. Yes, the world has changed since I was at school, but life will always have winners and losers, with graduations of success within each group. Lowering the bar to have more 'winner' is a recipe for disaster, as others have said.

[Swoop]

serrioulsy:spanking:
Not that I would have expected better.

Maybe the govt. wants more dropouts from uni?
With the push for "success and retention" being prevalent, perhaps not.

[sAsLEX]

Hmmmm as I recall Asians generally do a lot better than other New Zealanders at being grammatically correct and using proper English...

Well after just finishing four years at Uni with alot of Asian foreign students I can categorically say your wrong. Some of them incredibly smart in their major subject, yet struggle to communicate in written language and in some cases oral communication.

[crashe]

Where was Hitcher?
Sorry Buffy, and I know it seems petty, but teachers, especially, must attain the highest standard.
What is this facsination with making things as easy as possible? Is it to ensure that as many as possible get to pass? I always thought that the point of school and exams was that approximately 50% would pass and the other 50% would fail. Scaling was there to ensure this. Yes, the world has changed since I was at school, but life will always have winners and losers, with graduations of success within each group. Lowering the bar to have more 'winner' is a recipe for disaster, as others have said.

Its common knowledge that teachers are the worst spellers around....:rofl:

As to this text stuff in exams, I am personally against it.
We will end up with a country that has no idea on how to spell words the correct way.

Hell, sometimes I get a text message and I have no idea what the person is saying. I wont waste 20 cents to ask them to repeat it in english, so I just delete it.

Sure we can all abbreviate certain words, but when you can not decipher it...

Text words can mean so many things.

[Scorpygirl]

They really do have enough probs. I mean problems... :dodge: with NCEA wthout addng this to it!! I can just imagine the digital immigrants tryng to decipher this foreign lngage!!! :Punk: Where is ET!!!! :love:

PS Sorry, sorry Hitcher

[Hitcher]

Where was Hitcher?

Hitcher was blinded by tears after reading this effort from said teaching aspirant.


Hitcher, I am apposed to it! And I am ALMOST a teacher.

[diggydog]

will i'm against it, they talking about bring this in to schools and for tests as well, they dont have any guide lines let alone no dictionary to check against, which is correct you do'nt know. having definitions for these words we wo'nt know which word goes with the meanings, we have words, that mean so many things.

[MidnightMike]

f'in stpd. wtf is teh wrld cumin 2?

I knw its knda stpd hh, whtz th pnt, sriusly. Ts wd hve 2 b th stpdsd ide snce mrkaklnd.

Translated:

I know its kind of stupid isnt it?, whats the point, seriously. This would have to be the most stupid idea since MarkAuckland.

[Phurrball]

Small point: Do not most modern cell phones have predictive text?

There is no excuse for 'txt spk'. Surely such data-saving in these enlightened predictive text days should be consigned to the dust-bin of history. Case-in-point: two digit computer dates (anyone remember the Y2K hysteria?!?!) We can use an indulgent 4 digits worth of data for dates these days! Surely we can use proper English to text one another?

With many SMS messages available for little coin, and the possibility of concatenation, text messaging could IMPROVE spelling if predictive text dictionaries are used. I know that if my phone doesn't know the word I just tried to input...I need to revise my appalling spelling (Or revise my gumby finger operation). I also love the fact it is so easy to use apostrophes on my phone with predictive text :yes:

(Trying to get a hyphen makes me weep...I have taken to using commas)

My mission for Christmas is to show my 50 year-old mother how to use predictive text. This morning she asked me "Hows u?"

My reaction to this appalling language was similar to Hitcher's upon receipt of this 'Exm txt spk OK' story.:gob: :sick:

[Phurrball]

I knw its knda stpd hh, whtz th pnt, sriusly. Ts wd hve 2 b th stpdsd ide snce mrkaklnd.

Translated:

I know its kind of stupid isnt it?, whats the point, seriously. This would have to be the most stupid idea since MarkAuckland.

Close MM:

I know it's kind of stupid isn't it? What's the point, seriously. This would have to be the most stupid idea since MarkAuckland.

Your syntax is fine, but the apostrophes need work.

[MidnightMike]

Thannks for that, it could mean the difference between fail and pass I guess.

[mstriumph]

pahhhh

on the one hand, language evolves

and it is not unknown for civilizations to last hundreds of years without a written language

.. irritating as that probably is to the world's historians ..

on the other hand, personally i'm not convinced that txt is anything other than an evolutionary cul-de-sac along our linguistic road ........ similar to pig latin and similar 'secret' methods of communication adopted by cliques of one sort or another to set them apart from [and thereby make them feel superior to] the rest of us common herd

it would be as wrong for the "powers" to give txt any official recognition as an acceptable means of 'general' communication [as, from the debate raging here, it ISN'T 'generally' understood] as it would be for them to recognise bed-wetting as an acceptable means of washing sheets.............

....and because, like bed-wetting, the perpetrators will probably grow out of it in time ...... :dodge:

[Brett]

Well hearing this astounds me. Who was the dumb twat that passed this off as ok? Does anyone care about correct grammar and spelling anymore? One day we will be forced to hire idiots who only know how to write in this new form of shorthand.

CONVERTED

Wl hrng ths astnds me. Who ws da dmb twt dat pssd ths off as k? Duz ne1 care abt crct gramr & spelng nemore? 1 day we wl b 4cd 2 hyr idiots who only no hw 2 wryt in dis nw frm of shrthnd.

[Beemer]

Where was Hitcher?
Sorry Buffy, and I know it seems petty, but teachers, especially, must attain the highest standard.
What is this facsination with making things as easy as possible? Is it to ensure that as many as possible get to pass? I always thought that the point of school and exams was that approximately 50% would pass and the other 50% would fail. Scaling was there to ensure this. Yes, the world has changed since I was at school, but life will always have winners and losers, with graduations of success within each group. Lowering the bar to have more 'winner' is a recipe for disaster, as others have said.

Pot. Kettle. Black. :gob:

[yungatart]

I am appalled! I guess, though, that it does allow the less literate among us to feel some success - heaven forbid that in this enlightened age, anyone should fail at anything. The risks to one's self esteem being irreparably damaged by failure are legendary and well documented.
On a brighter note, it appears that principals in Hawkes Bay are opposed to the idea, and are insisting on correct English for all assessments.
Sanity prevails, if only in one small area.

[Hitcher]

Sanity prevails, if only in one small area.

Even if it's an area that can't decide whether or not it should be apostrophised...

[MSTRS]

You are the weakest link. Goodbye.

:o :o :o :Oops: :slap:

[Beemer]

You'd never guess what I do for a living, would you, MSTRS? Good money in proof-reading these days, especially for government departments!

[mstriumph]

.................. it does allow the less literate among us to feel some success - heaven forbid that in this enlightened age, anyone should fail at anything. The risks to one's self esteem being irreparably damaged by failure are legendary and well documented.............................

hmmmmm
even if txt DOES become a 'standard' it won't be any bar to anything continuing to be 'well-documented' methinks ....

....... it's just that a lot of us will no longer be able to UNDERSTAND the documentation ... :dodge:

[jetboy]

Whatever happened to actually learning something at school?
When I was at school the teachers didnt really give a toss, even though I probably wasnt the easiest student.

If txt does become standard, whats stopping them making gibberish or pig-latin standard too?

If you ask me (even if you dont Ill tell you) this shit is getting too far out of hand.

[mstriumph]

...........If txt does become standard, whats stopping them making gibberish or pig-latin standard too?

.........


nothing at all ......... except the backlash from people like those on this forum

so KEEP SHOUTING fellas - protest in English while you still can!!

[Karma]

Well after just finishing four years at Uni with alot of Asian foreign students I can categorically say your wrong. Some of them incredibly smart in their major subject, yet struggle to communicate in written language and in some cases oral communication.


ten dollar?

[Mom]

Well after just finishing four years at Uni with alot of Asian foreign students I can categorically say your wrong. Some of them incredibly smart in their major subject, yet struggle to communicate in written language and in some cases oral communication.

My daughter is about finished her 2nd year at university studying Japanese and Linguistics, she has spent time in Japan on exchange, loved it!.......we got to reciprocate the Japanese hospitality ( it was unreal, fantastic and well beyond anything I would have expected) The lovely girl we had living with us.......sigh......such hard work, not interested in blending in, could not leave her "friends"....she went home, we got fresh student right off the plane.....lovely girl...but not able to blend..... we coined a phrase to explain the blank looks and shrugs.."Asian amneasia"........I reckon it is cultural, these kids don't conform at home........come to NZ...use the language barrier as an excuse to not try....yes smart.........yes try really hard......yes do well...and sadly yes need to be better understood...

I dont speak Japanese but sure can get the gist of a conversation happening around me....

[Brian d marge]

My daughter is about finished her 2nd year at university studying Japanese and Linguistics, she has spent time in Japan on exchange, loved it!.......we got to reciprocate the Japanese hospitality ( it was unreal, fantastic and well beyond anything I would have expected) The lovely girl we had living with us.......sigh......such hard work, not interested in blending in, could not leave her "friends"....she went home, we got fresh student right off the plane.....lovely girl...but not able to blend..... we coined a phrase to explain the blank looks and shrugs.."Asian amneasia"........I reckon it is cultural, these kids don't conform at home........come to NZ...use the language barrier as an excuse to not try....yes smart.........yes try really hard......yes do well...and sadly yes need to be better understood...

I dont speak Japanese but sure can get the gist of a conversation happening around me....

If you need any one to bounce Ideas off , We live in Japan and have the inside view !!

Both of us can Speak Japanese, My wife is a ummm ...a...young Japanese lady ...as in understands the poor creatures ...

It is cultural ... Did you know there was a report of the Japanese embasy shipping home about 4 japanese people a month from Paris, apparently they have these pre conceived ideas of france and paris ,,,When they get there ,,,the poor liitle creatures get Shell shock!!! and go quite doo Lally !!

Not better or worse ,.Just different !

Stephen

[Jonathan]

If you need any one to bounce Ideas off , We live in Japan and have the inside view !!

Both of us can Speak Japanese, My wife is a ummm ...a...young Japanese lady ...as in understands the poor creatures ...

It is cultural ... Did you know there was a report of the Japanese embasy shipping home about 4 japanese people a month from Paris, apparently they have these pre conceived ideas of france and paris ,,,When they get there ,,,the poor liitle creatures get Shell shock!!! and go quite doo Lally !!

Not better or worse ,.Just different !

Stephen


Common to every culture I believe. I went for a one year exchange to Japan and there were plenty of people who were on exchange at the same time with pre-conceived ideas of what Japan was supposed to be like. One American girl was so shell shocked that she ran away from her host family after only a week and flew back home with no one knowing about it until she turned up at her parents doorstep. An extreme case, yes, but there were many others.

Mom - your description of "Asian amnesia" could have been applied to at least half the students on exchange at the same time as me. Whether they were from New Zealand, the US, Sweden, France etc. Of course the extraverts got on fine (they don't care if what they say might be the wrong choice of words or grammatically incorrect) but the shyer ones, myself included, often (even if we understood perfectly what was being said) held our tongues out of fear of saying the wrong thing and embarrassing ourselves.
- On a side note, coincidentally I did a degree in exactly the same majors as your daughter. Hope your daughter is finding them as interesting as i did!

Back on the topic - The education system is getting ridiculous. Now everyone believes they should be in university and that any degree is a ticket into a "good job". Half the people in uni these days are what would have once been considered illiterate. Only about 20% in first year know how to write academically.

Some spend six years failing papers, finally coming out with a degree in "philosophy" and a massive student loan they have no way of ever paying off. They believe, as they have a "degree", that they deserve an office job and therefore will never stoop so low as to do any non-professional work. Of course they have very little chance of getting an office job with a "c" average philosophy degree and so they end up on the dole and become yet another burden to the taxpayer.

All the while everyone is complaining about a lack of trades people; weeks waiting for a plumber, electrician etc. Why? The government is slighting these professions while putting people into university who should not be there.

I am not saying that dumb people should be trades men/women. What I am saying is that uni is not for everyone - some are better at academics, some are better at the trades, and the examination system is meant to sort these groups out. In all this "equal opportunities" mania the government is destroying this system.

[thehollowmen]

But then again, because of PC in nz we were able to request to sit the english exams (school cert, bursary) in maori for years now.

Questions and answers.

I'm not joking.

[Hitcher]

I'll bet it's not allowable to use TXT answers in Maori exams...

[yungatart]

I'll bet it's not allowable to use TXT answers in Maori exams...

I'll bet you that it is!

[Hitcher]

Right then. I'm starting a petition right now to ban TXT. Simple enough. It only requires legislation to prevent Telecom and Vodafone activating this facility on their cellphones.

[hXc]

Hmmm, txt language allowed, but my writing style is not. I write in capitals, but it is easy to determine which letters are capitals (Like first letters of names, sentences etc etc), because they're a different size.

Capitals > txt.

[Ixion]

Chill, oh thou antique dudes. Txt is easy enough , anyone can do it, and it is certainly handy for (duh) txting, or chatting. The world won't end , the sky will not fall.

[Krayy]

How about this one from the Harold yesterday:

"Schools are awarding students NCEA credits for simple tasks such as knowing how to apply for a benefit, having a conversation or simply turning up to school on time." (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10410338)

Oooooo-kay. So part of the school curriculum is how to apply for a benefit? :sick:

To paraphrase The Human Torch - "Rant, ON!!":

You dumb-ass f**king lefty tosspot wankers. How f**ked up is your damn socialist bullshitting agenda if you're expecting - nay, encouraging - this type of frickin' defeatist crap in the same frickin' schools that I will most likely be sending my children to as the amount of f**king tax you force upon us to further your own damn empire building will not enable me to do what I damn well ought to and send them to a private school that teaches the Cambridge curriculum so they don't have to be a part of your stupid "you don't have to succeed, only try" mentality experiments. F**k you, Helen, and all your damn bitches.

[Ixion]

Well, we've made it to the international scene .

http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20061112

Also references the Dutch tourist attack

[jetboy]

Chill, oh thou antique dudes. Txt is easy enough , anyone can do it, and it is certainly handy for (duh) txting, or chatting. The world won't end , the sky will not fall.

Oh for sure, I agree with that. But this is about txt language in exams....not in general.

[mstriumph]

How about this one from the Harold yesterday:

"Schools are awarding students NCEA credits for simple tasks such as knowing how to apply for a benefit, having a conversation or simply turning up to school on time." (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10410338).............................


......... you only get official credits for that over here in Aus. if you are part-aborigine ............


yet one more example of the australian governments' taxpayer-funded apartheid policy

[ManDownUnder]

"Schools are awarding students NCEA credits for simple tasks such as knowing how to apply for a benefit, having a conversation or simply turning up to school on time." (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10410338)


WHOAAAAA... ya wat?

And here's me wondering where all my tax dollars are going. Now I know where they'll be going next year too... state trained professional befeniciaries.

Fucken nuts... absolutely nuts....

[speights_bud]

I'm a 17 year old male and yes i do txt on a regular basis, however i cannot even understand the examples of txt languages that our local newspaper showed. Exams are a formal situation, therefore proper england should be writed.

[yungatart]

......... you only get official credits for that over here in Aus. if you are part-aborigine ............


yet one more example of the australian governments' taxpayer-funded apartheid policy

Those credits are given to students with intellectual/physical disabilities and are supposed to be labelled as Supported Learning Credits

[Toaster]

It's crazy that good english skills are being watered down. I see so many people who can't spell or write properly..... barely printing really.

Lets just all drop our standards, then, when we under achieve, we won't be disappointed.

[BuFfY]

hehe soon we will all speak like this!

<a href="http://www.explosm.net/comics/704/"><img alt="Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic" src="http://www.flashasylum.com/db/files/Comics/Matt/the-internet.png" border=0></a><br />Cyanide & Happiness @ <a href="http://www.explosm.net">Explosm.net</a>

[Hitcher]

Gahhh! Thud.

[Wolf]

Pretty soon all the graduates from our schooling system will be as stupid and as illiterate as the NZQA morons.

Suggested taglines for a series of adverts promoting the NZQA:

"NZQA - Proudly Dragging New Zealanders Down to Our Level For 16 Years!"

"NZQA - Successfully Lowering The Standards of Education Since 1990!"

"NZQA - Making New Zealand an International Laughing-Stock"

"NZQA - NCEA 4 teh win!"

I'd seriously like to arrest everyone involved in the NZQA and charge them with treason - they have been acting against the interests of New Zealanders, and New Zealand as a nation, for years now but this last travesty is an act of outright warfare.

Round them up and hang the traitorous bastards.

It's bad enough that you have to be legally dead in order to fail NCEA, without them deeming that illiteracy should be the "industry standard".

Q: How many NZQA Accreditors does it take to change a light bulb?






A: None: they've redefined darkness as the "Industry Standard"

[yungatart]

The principal of the school I work at told the students on Wednesday, that text language is NOT allowed in exams, only formal language should be used. He also said that the whole text in exams thing is a situation hyped up, if not engineered, by the media.

[Wolf]

Small wonder home schooling's becoming popular - New Zealanders are losing faith in the NZQA-butchered education system to produce educated, literate people.

When "achieving" a tertiary qualification entails reanswering the assessment questions you got wrong until you finally get them right - no matter how many times through it takes you - there is no "value" in an NZQA-accredited qualification.

Especially when most of the questions are multiple choice so at worst it'll take four attempts to answer a given question (unless your memory is really bad and you can't recall which answers you chose on the previous occasions).

I gather you're not allowed to tell people they've failed to achieve, these days, lest they become psychologically scarred for life and fall into a victim syndrome because of your oppressive and judgemental behaviour...